The Greatest of These

Sunday's sermon assignment was to write a thank you note to God for his spiritual blessings. We were specifically told not to thank for material blessings, but for spiritual ones. I have thought all week about it, and I think I have my note ready. Here goes: Dear God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, Thank you for LOVE. I have known love all of my life and in it I have found you. I was blessed to be born to parents who were committed to my well being, both emotional and physical. My father never gave me reason to fear abandonment. In this love I found that my Heavenly Father can be trusted to do what is best for me. I appreciate your blessing of protection and providence. You care for whatever needs I may have and have never given me reason to be afraid of abandonment when the going gets tough. I was born into an extended family that taught me there are many types of people in the world, and they are all worthy of love. In learning to love everyone around me it made me better prepared to love your church and to appreciate its unique personalities. I have been extremely blessed to find a husband who loves me more than himself. In this I found the love of Christ emulated in a personal, concrete way. I know I don't deserve the love, but it is freely granted to me anyway. In my children I have found the love that passes understanding. No matter what my children do or say, I want what is best for them and to see them happy and content. In this relationship I have discovered more about the love of my Father than I could have understood otherwise. How could a father give up his son? Perhaps I have a little better understanding of it now. Through the love of friendships I have found the Holy Spirit active and alive. He is always whispering little friendly reminders of what I need to do and where I need to go. My friends have been blessings in my life to spur me on to higher goals and to give me ideas of possibilities. The Holy Spirit acts in a similar way in my life telling me I can do what needs to be done and to get out there and do it. So Lord, I am grateful for your generosity in abundant LOVE. It is the greatest of the spiritual gifts, and it certainly is evident in my life. Thank you.